Would you skip your class? Would you tell your friends and encourage them to go?

Would you attend the Iranian president's opportunity to stand before a microphone? Would you sit under the bright lights of the Morris Dailey Auditorium, maybe not sure of what to expect, because Ahmadinejad hasn't been afforded the same grandiose amount of media attention as he was Monday? He was given the opportunity, partially, to speak at Columbia University amid much controversy within the school and by political figureheads elsewhere....

Post Comment Go to ArticleComments in Other Articles RSS Feed Ted Rudow III,MA 9/27/07 "The central committee of Iran's 25,000-strong Jewish community, which has in the past expressed unease over Ahmadinejad's stance on the Holocaust, added its voice to the condemnation of his hostile reception in New York,Iranian Jews strongly condemn such impoliteness and willfulness, as such behavior has targeted Iran's president who legally represents Iranians," it said in a statement". On the another hand, AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, describes itself as the most important organization affecting the U.S. relationship with Israel. With a budget of $65 million, and membership now standing at over 100,000, it is no wonder that congressional staffers consider it one of the most powerful and effective lobbies on Capitol Hill. Including AIPAC's support for U.S. military aid to Israel, which amounts to over $3 billion per year. "It is widely acknowledged that the reps and senators are ticked at AIPAC, and their hostility seems to be growing these days. With upwards of 60% of their campaign contributions coming directly or indirectly from the Israel Lobby, the Democratic congressmen are not free to respond to their antiwar base." John Walsh Some Muslims see a new Crusade in the making, waged jointly by the Jewish Israelis and the Christian Americans. Ted Rudow III,MA former Grad student

One can call Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad many things, but a dictator he is not. He doesn't even have the power to appoint his own cabinet ministers. It's a presidency with very limited power. And to claim that he is in a position to threaten the United States or Israel is just bizarre.

The Israelis and the pro-Israel interest in the United States have lobbied to make sure that there is no dialogue or there's no rapprochement between the United States and Iran. And the Iranians have done similar things. They have undermined every U.S. initiative in the Middle East they feared would be beneficial to Israel.

The U.S. isn't really against terrorists; it's just against terrorists who aren't its friends and allies. After all, if it were against terrorists, it would be against Israel, against the various Israeli governments that have thrown the Palestinians off their land and seized it.